Stationery can be sexy

Doctor, I Need Pencil-cillin: Mega Blackwing Pencil Test!

BUT, I’ve found that pencils are equally as nuanced, beautiful and interesting as fountain pens. I know, I was shocked to the core too (like the pencil pun ;)?!). Sometimes, a pen just won’t cut it and the archival, erasable and instantaneous quality of a pencil is what you need. Like drawing a mark on wood. Or jotting down a shopping list on crap paper in a hurry. Or stabbing your enemy in the eye. PENCILS WILL DO THIS!

So, when the lovely Mishka at Bureau Direct asked me if I wanted to try a selection of their Blackwing range I jumped at the chance, despite the fountain pen part of my brain screaming ‘NOOOoooOOOOO!’

In case you aren’t aware (or have the IQ of a gnat), you need a decent sharpener to get a killer point on your pencil, much like an intravenous drip of blood to keep you alive. The Palomino Handheld Sharpener made by Kum is an incredible example. It comes with two holes: one to sharpen the wood into a long cone, and one to sharpen the lead into the LONGEST POINT EVER! Such a simple but well put together tool, this sharpener was easy to use and delivered amazing points every time. My only gripe is that it didn’t hold a high volume of shavings; after one pencil I was frantically searching for a bin whilst ruining my carpet with off cuts. Nevertheless, a must have for pencil aficionados on the go…if you think £10.95 is reasonable for a sharpener.

Look at the points on that!

Here come the pencils in order of firmness, starting with the limited edition 530 at the firmest end of the scale for writing, through to the Classic at the softer end of the scale for sketching. Look at me being all official and that!

First up and – just to spoil it – my absolute favourite of the bunch is the 530. As a Blackwing limited edition, it commemorates a key moment or figure in American history because…well it’s hipster as f**k, isn’t it? The 530 represents James Marshall discovering gold in California in 1848, hence the Goldfinger style paint job. It has an extra-firm graphite core, and I LOVED the way it wrote. Super smooth, great point retention and little smudging if you smeared your greasy paws all over it accidentally. The rubber on the end wasn’t too bad either, removing most of the pencil mark after a few swipes. I’m not mad keen on the gold finish as it makes me look like a pretentious tit when using it, but I am happy to endure this social labelling just for the writing experience.

Everyone worth their stationery salt has tried one of these. The 602 is made of incense cedar (so smells DIVINE!), has a super-cool grey and gold finish and is the flagship Blackwing model. It’s firm yet smooth core promises to deliver ‘half the pressure, twice the speed’ and it does so with aplomb. I enjoyed writing with it, but preferred the darker, firmer line of the 530 for everyday writing. The 602 was a touch too soft and light for me, but is a great all rounder for writing and sketching if that is your thing. Not a bad pencil at all…just not a 530.

Another of Palomino’s standard models, is the Blackwing Pearl. It is much softer than the 602, and puts down the darkest line of the bunch. I liked how dark it wrote, and it was awesome for underlining in books due to its boldness. I also adore the finish; as a recovering Apple whore, the simple white and black lines really turn me on. It is my second favourite of the bunch; only pipped by the 530 as the Pearl is so ridiculously soft, I was sharpening it every couple of lines to keep a decent point. Will be a firm favourite in my pencil case.

Finally, my least favourite of the Blackwing gaggle, the Classic. It is soft as sh*t, more boring than a party political broadcast in terms of looks (it’s plain black), and is a NIGHTMARE to erase. I didn’t enjoy it for writing as it smudged all over the place, BUT I can see the merits of it for sketching and shading. Its ‘smudgeability’ lends itself well to artistic pieces and it lays down a dark line. I also liked the look of the white eraser…but alas, it couldn’t even erase invisible lines ;)! Not a crap pencil by any means, just not to my taste.

2 pencil-cillin pills out of 5

Analog versus digital

Final Diagnosis

I can’t believe it. I have to admit that I like – no more than that – REALLY LIKE pencils. They are as idiosyncratic as pens and provide an equally diverse writing experience. Overall, I’ve loved the Blackwing selection I received to test. They look awesome (and appeal to my inner hipster toff), have good point retention and lay down amazingly dark lines with a wonderful writing experience. Another added bonus: they smell delicious when sharpened.

Big thanks to Bureau Direct for providing this test sample free of charge (although all opinions are my own). You can pick up a box of 12 of each of these Blackwings for £24.95 (excluding the 530 limited edition). Check out their website for the latest Blackwing offerings and subscribe to their newsletter for a 10% discount code every month. BOOM!

Fan-tastic! I’ve asked *whispers* Bureau Direct to explain the firmness factor of the Blackwings for the uninitiated – maybe comparing them to the B/HB/F we know so well – without success. So this is the review I needed BEFORE I bought a box of Blackwing Pearl. That being said, I love them. I chose those because I find conventional ‘F’ grade pencils a bit scratchy and whiskery (if that makes sense), but it sounds as though I might be safe plumping for the 530 in the future. Great stuff, thanks.

As someone who lives close enough to Portland, Oregon to smell the weed and pretension wafting from all the hipsters living there, I feel qualified enough to say that YES, these pencils are “hipster as fuck.” I’ve never been much of a pencil person, but this post made me chuckle a few times. I maybe even lol’d.

But honestly, a *real* pencil is one that you make from hand-hewn cedar planks that you cut from your personal cedar grove in the misty forests of the Cascade Mountains, along with a core made from the purest graphite sourced from fair trade Canadian graphite mines, hand-mixed with the finest artisanal clays. Blackwings are soooo corporate and 2004.

Loved this post! If you wanna avoid looking like a pretentious tit in the future, I’d be happy to send you a few Blackwing 24’s. Same core as the 530 (in fact, the 24 is the pencil that introduced that core to the Blackwing lineup), but just… All black. https://blackwing602.com/volumes-blackwing-vol-24/

Well bollocks. Turns out if you write a comment, and then log in to WordPress, the comment disappears into the ether. Anyway, loved the post! If you wanna avoid looking like a pretentious tit in the future, you should give the Blackwing 24 a try. It has the same core as the 530, and is just black. Couldn’t be any blacker if it tried. Well, I suppose the wood could be dyed black, but you get my point. https://blackwing602.com/volumes-blackwing-vol-24/

Hi Chris! Haha shit, hate it when WordPress does that ;)! That’s so generous of you! I’d love to try some 24s, the core and looks sound right up my street :). How can I send you my details? Thanks for reading! X